


Paopu High Year 1: Dreams and Promises

by Kyobuui



Series: Paopu High [1]
Category: Disney - Fandom, Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn, romcom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25660327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyobuui/pseuds/Kyobuui
Summary: Welcome to Paopu High, where dreams come true! Please follow Sora and friends on their journey to adulthood.
Relationships: Axel/Larxene, Demyx/Zexion, Riku/Namine, Roxas/Axel, Sora/Kairi, Sora/Riku
Series: Paopu High [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860592
Kudos: 1





	1. Week 1: Friday, May 24

#  **~Week 1 : Summer Promises & Sweet Dreams~**

###  **~Friday, May 24: Our Adventure Starts Today!~**

  
I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately… Sora’s mind wandered as he lost himself in the sky right outside his window. “Alright class, outside! Time for recess!” These words made Sora snap his head towards the homeroom door. He quickly got to his feet and dashed out the door, followed by his classmates. His pace slowed upon reaching the playground, his hand now above his eyes, blocking the glaring sun.

  
“Sora! Over here!” A girl’s voice called for him. It was Kairi, waving her hands at the swing sets. She and Riku managed to save two swings for the trio, as she did every day. No one ever actually swung. They’d just sit there talking, and occasionally switch between the seats. Sora ran to the side of his friends, a giant grin plastered on his face. “Guys! Can you believe it’s already the last day?” Kairi questioned her two friends. “I know right?” The brunet answered, “I kinda don’t want it to be over though…”

“Why? We finally get to be high schoolers!”

  
“Yeah, and it sounds hard.” Sora grimaced at the thought of high school, but yet he was ecstatic to go. Maybe it was the thought of all the homework he was going to have to do? He had also heard some rumors that the teachers in high school were crueler than the ones he had now. Then, for the first time since the trio sat down at the swings, Riku piped up. “I also heard that high school is where tons of students ask out their crushes,” he said chuckling. He leaned against a pole holding up the swings and crossed his arms. A sly grin plastered on his face. Sora knew exactly what Riku was doing. Both of them did like Kairi after all. Kairi’s feet prodded at the dirt beneath her swing. “Yeah, I heard about that. But don’t a lot of them get rejected?”

  
“I don't know. You'll have to ask your crush to find that out,” Riku added.  
Kairi then leapt to her feet, grabbing Sora’s wrist and pulling him as well. He was flustered enough about the whole ‘crush’ talk, and now Kairi’s basically holding his hand! “It’s time to go! The bell just rang!” She yelled at Riku, while practically dragging Sora across the playground. The silver-haired boy calmly followed his friends back to the building, which was already surrounded by a vast majority of children, all from several different classes.

  
He sat there at his desk, tapping his pencil, a quirk he only showed when he was frustrated about something. It was homeroom, and Sora had been staring at a math sheet for half an hour and hadn’t marked a single answer down. He really didn’t have many close friends in his homeroom except Selphie. They weren't exactly ‘best friends,’ but any friend of one of Sora’s friends was bound to like him eventually. “Um, Selphie? Can you help me a bit?”

  
“Sure Sora. With what?”

  
“With this math problem. It’s hard to understand.” He usually had Kairi to help him if he was struggling with his math after school, but the paper was due before they left school grounds. It's not like Sora could just walk off in the middle of class to ask her for help.

  
Selphie sat next to him and turned towards him. With how small and close the desks were to each other, their legs couldn’t help but touch. “Ok. So you move the three here and add seven…” His head fell on top of his crossed arms, as he let out a groan of confusion. “Ughh…” Concerned, Selphie slightly nudges him, attempting to get Sora to look at her. “Hey… Sora? I know you want to, so, why don’t you go get Kairi’s help?”

  
“Huh!?” The brunet jolted upright in his seat from the sudden question, “No, no! I’m fine! Honest!” He paused, glancing in the direction of the teacher’s desk. “And I don’t think Mr. M will let us leave this time…”

  
Selphie pushed herself out of her chair and walked over to her teacher’s desk, causing him to look up from the book he held in his hand. They exchanged a few words, and she walked back to Sora. “He said we could go,” she proclaimed with an outstretched hand.

  
“Really?” He said, ecstatically, taking her hand in his. He hoisted himself up and started for the hallway, the curly haired brunette following close behind with the math paper. The hallways were silent as they walked. The only audible thing being their school shoes clacking against the worn-down wood floors. Sora suddenly stopped in front of a classroom, standing still as if he’d gotten caught walking around skipping class. Selphie looked up at the classroom sign, which read ‘ 2-a.’ “This is her classroom, right? So what are you waiting for?”

  
The boy slowly backed up, turned on his heel, and started walking back to class. “Let’s go.”  
“Huh? But— we just got here!” Sora put his arms behind his head and turned to Selphie, a bright grin on his face. “She might be doing something important." Selphie looked in the classroom and wondered what had gotten him so worked up. There Kairi was. Her smile surely did brighten up a room, but… Riku was right there next to her, laughing just as hard. She realized instantly. Sora was jealous. Selphie grinned to herself as she trailed Sora back to the classroom.

As soon as the bell rings, every student in the school dashes for the door to ‘be let free from the prison of learning,’ as they call it. Sora took his time collecting what little items he had left. Only holding his school bag, he headed for the door, trying to be as silent as possible.  
“Hey Sora,” the teacher called out to him, his foot halfway out the door. “Yes Mr. M?“ (He preferred his students call him Mr. M because they could never pronounce his name right.)

  
“I wanted to give you something for the summer vacation. Hold out your hands.” Reluctantly, the boy held out his hands. He was expecting weird candy or something similar, but what he got was something mysterious. It was a key with two edges of a star on the end. Puzzled, Sora’s eyes shifted between the key and his teacher's face. “What is this for?” The man chuckled. “Let’s just say… it’s the key to where your heart will guide you.”

  
The brunet questioned his pink-haired teacher’s logic. The key to where my heart will guide me? What does he even mean? “Hey… Mr. Marluxia!” Sora called out to him, but when he turned his face, he was already gone.

Sora stood outside the lockers, silently waiting for his friends. He looks to the ground and prods at a pebble impatiently with his yellow shoes. “Hey, Sora!” He turned around to see Kairi and Riku running at him. “Guys, I’ve been waiting forever!”

  
“It’s only been 5 minutes,” Riku’s thumb motions towards the rusty clock barely hanging on the wall.  
“Well, it felt forever!” Sora puffed his cheeks out and turned his face away in a huff. Riku pinched his cheeks, pulling at them. “Oww, Wiku! You’re hurting mwe!” Kairi let out a soft chuckle, “Ok, you can let him go now Riku.” He released his grip and Sora cupped the sides of his face in the palms of his hands and fell to the ground. “Riku! You’re so mean to me!” Riku turned to Kairi, ignoring the brunet's complaining.  
“What did you want to do this summer?”

  
“Oh um, I didn’t really plan anything except hanging out with you guys.” She turned to face Sora, extending her arm out to him. “I was kinda expecting you guys to have plans.” Sora grabbed her arm, lifting himself up. “Well, whatever. We’ll figure something out,” Riku’s voice was ambivalent. He turned around and started walking, his hands residing in his pockets. “We can talk about it more at the fountain,” he said, glancing over his shoulder briefly. Kairi and Sora both exchanged trivial looks, and darted after the boy.

  
Upon reaching the town, the square is bustling with life. Mothers walking with their children, and little boys fencing with wooden swords. Not to lose each other, the three walked close enough where their knuckles grazed the others’ every step. “There sure are a lot of people here today…” Kairi sighed. Still shuffling, the three managed to sit on the already overpopulated fountain rim. Sora shifted his position, uncomfortably cramped between his two friends. “I hate this,” Sora growled. “Can we leave now?”  
“Sora be patient. The crowd is bound to clear away any moment,” she said as she ran her hands down her wrinkled dress. None of them wanted to endure this suffering anymore. Being close? That’s completely fine, but being close in such immense heat? That’s insufferable.

  
Sora tried to drown out the heat with his own thoughts, but the cries of a child brought him back to reality. Like an automatic response, Kairi pushed herself off the wall and over to the little boy’s side. Riku couldn’t help but sigh at her actions. “That’s just like her. I swear if she could, Kairi would be the mother of that child.”  
“Still better than you, Riku. If anything you’d scare the kid away,” he returned sarcastically with a giggle. He turned to Sora and gave him a glare. Kairi sauntered back to them, a smile plastered across her face. “Sorry that took so long, he had a scraped knee.” She sat back on the wall, legs crossed.

  
The once full square was now barren, and the sky was stained a bright orange. The boys were hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia. It had been forever since they sat at the fountain and talked about anything besides the answers to homework. Riku got up from the stone wall and stood in front of his counterpart. “Hey Sora, wanna battle me?” The silver—haired boy towered over him, casting a long shadow. “No thanks Riku,” he denied instantly. The corner of the tall boy’s lip raised into a smirk. “What? Afraid you’re gonna lose again?”

  
Riku knew precisely which buttons to press to get Sora started. All that came out of the brunet’s mouth was stuttering. “No! I…! I just…!” His hands formed fists on his lap. The truth was, he didn’t want to lose in front of Kairi. He was worried that she wouldn’t like him if he were to lose to someone who was superior to him. Yet, at the same time, he wanted to show Riku how much stronger he got since the beginning of the year. Kairi turned to him and gave a reassuring smile, “Come on Sora! It’ll be fun!” Sora knew he was going to lose, but he decided it might be fun to try. Riku took his hand and helped him to his feet. “Sora, catch.” He tossed a wooden sword which had been left by the little boys fighting earlier. The two playfully clink the swords together, relearning the movements they used when they were younger. They start doing more and more complex movements, causing the playful banter to turn into a brawl.

  
One swift movement from Riku was all it took to get Sora unbalanced, and onto the ground. The brunet groaned. “Ugh, I can’t believe I lost.” He propped himself up on his hands, leaning back against them. “Again,” Riku added in, extending his hand towards the boy. “You don’t have to remind me every five seconds!” Sora playfully puffed out his cheeks, and took Riku’s hand in his. A light pink stained Sora’s cheeks. The moment Riku pulled him up, Sora felt himself lose his balance, so he ended up leaning into him. So close he could faintly hear his heartbeat through his chest.

  
He was glad his face was pushed against Riku’s chest, he didn’t want him to see his vividly flushed face. Sora quickly pushed himself off the boy and whipped his head in the other direction. “Ah… Thanks, Riku.” Sora’s head quickly filled with confusion. Why was Riku’s heart beating so fast? Lost in his own thoughts, he couldn’t even hear the one he admired call out to him. “...ra…! Sora…!” The source of the sound was Kairi yelling to the boys. “The sun is way too low. I have to hurry home.” She was right. You could barely see the sun over the shortest house against the now crimson sky. Set off in the direction of her house, she turned to wave goodbye, and dashed off.

  
Side by side the two walked home together, Riku’s arms folded across his chest, and Sora’s behind his head. Sora was the one who decided to break the awkward silence between the two. ”So what are we actually gonna do this summer?” Riku shot him a sidewards glance and sighed. “Honestly, I have no idea. It seems we’re running out of things to do.”

  
“Well no, since we’re officially high schoolers now, we’re older. There’s a lot of stuff we couldn’t do this year while still in middle school.” Riku’s mind still hung on the word ‘high schoolers.’ He wasn’t sure if he was willing to give in to the idea of moving away, nonetheless tell Sora and Kairi about it. Several times in the past he tried to tell them, but the words always got stuck in his throat. How many more memories could he create before leaving in August? The thoughts always haunted the back of his head. “...You always win,” His mind cut in at the end of Sora’s sentence. “Huh?” Riku said, having no clue what his friend had been talking about the whole time. “I said, It’s not fair that every time I challenge you at something you always win.”

  
“Well then, wanna race? First one to the cross section wins.”  
“You’re on!” Sora flashed a confident smile, and darted off, leaving his companion behind.  
“Sora! You’re cheating!” Riku started off, chasing after him under a navy blue, star-filled sky. Riku could quickly overtake Sora, but he decided to let him have at least one win under his belt. The two raced home, laughing all the way back


	2. Week 1: Sunday, May 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio go back to destiny island after a long time of school.

#  **~Week 1 : Summer Promises & Sweet Dreams~**

###  **~Sunday, May 26: Destiny Island!~**

  
Sora jolted awake to the sound of an alarm, the bright summer sun blinding him from behind his curtains. He rolled over with a groan, glancing at the clock flashing 8:00. “Mhn… Mom didn’t wake me up? Wait— I’m late for school!” Thrusting himself out of his bed, the brunet searched the floor of his room, looking for his school uniform in the cataclysmic pile of clothes strewn about his room. After finding his outfit, he struggled to put his shirt on and fix his shoes at the same time. 

Tripping over himself out the door, he paused, surprised to find his two best friends sitting in his living room. Riku scanned him up and down before stifling a snicker with his hand. “Hey Riku, what’s so funny?” Sora questioned, his eyes shifting between the laughing Riku, and a distracted Kairi. “You do know… it’s Sunday right?” Riku slipped out between gasps of air. Sora quickly turned his attention to the calendar hanging on the wall to his right.  _ Oh my god it’s Sunday! _ Sora let out a frustrated groan. “Ughh! And it’s summer vacation!” 

Pulling at his tie, he plopped down in the space between Kairi and her male counterpart. “What are we doing today?” Kairi questioned her two friends. This was a question often asked between the three during the summer. The silver haired boy looked at her with confused eyes, “We’re going to the beach. Did you forget already?” 

“Sorry, I guess I’m kind of out of focus right now.” Kairi grabbed a light pink bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Come on! We need to change before sundown you know!” Kairi teased. “Sora, is it ok if I change in your room?”

“Sure— Wait! Let me get my shorts so I can change out here.” The boy dashed in after her, grabbing his swimsuit and rejoining Riku in the living room. A few seconds of silence passed before Riku piped up.  “Hey,” Riku paused to take off his shirt, “Did you really forget it was summer vacation?” he asked with a slight chuckle. “Ugh, yes! Are you happy now?” His tone was littered with aggravation to hide his embarrassment. He practically yelled. 

After quickly changing into his trunks, Sora realized he was missing one key element to any summertime beach trip. He walked into his room, to grab towels. His hand on the golden knob of the door, he pushed it open. His eyes met with the scantily clothed Kairi in her two piece swimsuit. His face flushed with embarrassment. “Oh, hey Sora,” she said, casually putting her clothes in her bag. Sora was surprised that she was nonchalant about the whole situation, not even batting an eye that he was staring at her—barely dressed nonetheless—and didn't scream. 

Once he came to his senses, the boy quickly grabbed the towels from his drawer, and left with a quick ‘bye.’ In the living room, Riku inspected his face, cheekily cocking his head to the side with a smirk from the couch. “Your face is red.” 

“It— It’s really hot in my room!” Sora fanned his face dramatically with his hands. “Uh-huh.” Riku responded. He stood, and briskly started walking to the door. “Well, when Kairi finally decides to come out, tell her I'm outside preparing our boats.” One hand on the door, the other waving over his shoulder. 

To distract himself from the embarrassing incident with Kairi, Sora started packing his bag with the items he’d obtained around his house. Waiting was not something Sora excelled at. He’d always be the first person at the meeting spot, then yell at Riku and Kairi when they arrived late. 

“Sora, are you ready?” Startled from her sudden appearance, he stumbled backwards a bit, causing him to trip over his bag. “Huh? Oh. Um, yeah. I was waiting on you.” 

“I called your name like, 3 times already!” she chuckled. He stood up, making sure to grab his bag, and slinging it over his shoulder. “Let’s go! Riku is waiting on us!” She grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the house. 

Loud laughter rang from the children on their way to the beach. “Okay, okay,” Sora paused to wipe a tear from his eye, “Would you rather live with me, or Riku?”

“Riku of course! Your room is always messy!” She playfully nudged him with her elbow. “Hey!” He chuckled, jabbing her back. “Hey Sora… How would you feel,” she asked, staring out at the tiffany blue sky, “ If one of us had to move away?” 

“Hmm… Never thought about that,” his voice trailed before properly answering his friend’s question. “I guess I’d be pretty sad. I don’t know what I'd do without you guys.” He flashed his iconic smile, folding his arms behind his head. The dry crunching of the sand under the two kids shoes was the only audible thing for the rest of the walk.

“Hey, Riku!” Sora yelled to the silver haired boy leaning against a palm tree. His arms crossed, he shifted his gaze from the stretching sea to his nearing friends. “Took you long enough,” he commented, walking over to the wooden boats, “Let's go already.” The three pushed their boats in the water one by one. The sensation of the waves crashing against their boats sent a flood of adventure over them. Sora was normally the competitive type, wanting to always turn the simplest of things into a struggle for 1st place. But, ever since his accident boating to Destiny Island, he never played around in the water anymore. 

Riku eyed Sora, who was only a few rows in front of him. The brunette's face was strained and downcast, his eyes focused on the boat instead of inspecting the sea as he used to do. “Hey,” Riku called, Sora raising his head in response, “Relax.” 

Sora chuckled, “Thanks, Riku.” A pitiful smile drawn across his face. He playfully reached down and splashed him with water before rowing away. “Hey, Sora!”

Finally docked on the beach, the three took in the nostalgic scene. “We haven’t been here in forever!” Sora sighed, stretching his arms above his head. “We were here last summer,” Kairi responded. Riku started for the treehouse the trio uses to identify their island from the surplus of other identical ones. “I’m gonna go read. You two do whatever you want.” 

“Hey!” The brunet’s eyes lit up. “Is our stuff still here from last year?” Sora dashed in pursuit of Riku who was already ¾ of the way there. In their wooden bungalow was a collection of comic books and popsicle sticks strewn across the floor. “Sora, I thought I told you to clean up before we left?” Riku’s voice was riddled with irritation. He carefully stepped over the mess to a neat corner with neatly stacked books, taking a seat and pulling one out. Putting a hand behind his head, he swept the sticks in a corner with his foot, taking care to meticulously go around his comic books. “Sorry, I guess I forgot.” He threw his shoes off, and laid down against the shaded wooden floor. “Hahhh… It’s been way too long,” 

“It’s only been 6 months.”

“Yeah! 6 months too long!”

“Well we would’ve been able to come down here for Spring Break if you’d have finished your homework on time.” 

“If you would’ve helped me!” Sora threw a comic at Riku, causing him to lower his book. Riku pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. “You shouldn’t need help,” Riku lowered his tone to a threatening level. Riku’s aquamarine eyes staring back into what seemed like a deep ocean. It was quiet for a second before Sora let out a tiny giggle as Riku’s silver bangs brushed against his temple. Reaching a hand to wipe them away, he slightly chuckled. “We need to cut these Riku. I don’t know how you can see with them.” Riku swatted Sora’s hand away from his face as he sat up. “I still end up beating you don’t I? I can see just fine, it’s you who needs to get their eyes checked,” he brought his book up to his face and gave Sora a dismissive wave towards the door. “Why don’t you go play with Kairi and stop bothering me?” Sora’s chest twinged a bit before spouting out a sarcastic, “ _ Fine _ then. I didn’t want to talk to you either Riku!” He playfully stuck his tongue out at him before walking outside. 

Walking out on the sand, his eyes were drawn to Kairi making a slightly lopsided castle in the sand. Aware of his presence, Kairi lightly patted the area next to her, inviting him to sit down.

“Hey Sora. Are you here to help me with my sand castle?” She reached across him for a stick causing him to flinch backwards. He put a hand behind his head as he watched Kairi poke holes in the sand hill. ‘I guess,” he chuckled, “Riku kicked me out anyway.” Sora leaned back on his hands, glancing at Kairi. She was sitting on her legs, tenderly smoothing out her sand castle. He’d never seen someone as pretty as her. He loved the way her red hair swayed with the salty sea breeze, her kind personality. He’d liked her from the day he met her. All he had to do was ask her out, but Sora even knew himself that he didn’t have the courage to do something like that. Kairi patted and lightly dug through the sand. “What are you looking for?” She sifted through a small section of the sand before answering his question, “Seashells. But I don’t think there are any over here.” She turned to look at the sea, “Do you think some are at the shoreline?”

“Should be. I’ll go check!” Sora pushes himself up, one hand on the ground with the other on his knee. He stumbles getting up, causing sand to make him trip. “W—Woah!” He quickly catches himself and continues walking. “Don’t drown over there Sora!” She jokingly yells to him across the beach. “I can swim you know!”

“If you say so!” Kairi let’s out with a giggle. 

At shoreline Sora ran his hand through the cool, moist sand digging for seashells. His hand ran over many that were either blue or white, the smooth feeling causing waves of nostalgia to run through him. Eyeing one, Sora palmed it and gazed at the odd shaped shell in his hand. “Huh,” he said to himself, “It looks like the edge of a paopu fruit….” The color faded from a creme yellow at its base to a light pink at its pointed tip. After searching for a while, he only 2 more with the same shape, but one blue and one yellow instead of pink. He walked back over to Kairi’s location, handing her the treasures he found. “Thanks Sora! These are really pretty!” She said to him, placing the shells on top of the castle like a cake. 

“We have to show Riku! Sora, can you bring Riku down?”

“On it!” He flashed his signature toothy smile, and darted towards Riku. He stopped at the entryway, staring at a sleeping Riku. He creeped towards him, his feet making the wood groan beneath him. Perfectly positioned above Riku, Sora leaned down preparing to scare him. “You’re really loud you know.” Sora jolted back from his position above his silver-haired companion. “No fair, you always know I’m going to scare you!” 

“If you didn’t have feet of lead maybe I wouldn’t,” he said, opening his eyes to look at him. “Yeah, well—!” 

“..ra! ...iku!” A faint voice could be heard saying the names of both boys causing them to fall silent. After a moment with a very confused look on his face, Sora remembered the reason he’d come up here to bother Riku for. “Oh yeah! Riku—Let’s go!” Grabbing his hand, he dashed out of the house with Riku. 

Kairi promptly stood upon the boy's arrival and dusted the sand off of herself. "Ta-dah!" Proudly, she pointed her open hands at the decorated tower. Riku squatted down next to the tower, examining its features. "You made this all by yourself?" 

"Yep! You like it, Riku?"

"Better than what you did last time." 

Kairi laughed. “You mean what Sora did?” 

“That wasn’t my fault! I didn’t know that the ocean would destroy it!” He defended himself, embarrassed. The three filled the empty beach with their laughs, until the sky into a beautiful mesh of purple and orange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I’m so sorry if y’all thought this chapter was really boring! There’s gonna be a lot of these so just hang on, I PROMISE the pace will pick up in due time! ;w;  
> Once again, thank you so much for reading and thank you for your support!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This will be a verrrry long project, so please be patient with me. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go check out heartspocky’s Home-verse series and Vanilla by Scatteredrose. I love them so much and it’s a great inspiration to me! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> (Also, please tell me if something looks off. I’m still trying to get used to Ao3’s way of doing things -w-“)


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